Semiconductor structures with thinned junctions and methods of manufacture

ABSTRACT

A method of forming a semiconductor structure, including forming a channel in a first portion of a semiconductor layer and forming a doped extension region in a second portion of the semiconductor layer abutting the channel on a first side and abutting an insulator material on a bottom side. The first portion of the semiconductor layer is thicker than the second portion of the semiconductor layer.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to semiconductor structures and methods ofmanufacture and, more particularly, to semiconductor structures havingthinned junctions and silicide blocking in order to provide increasedsheet resistance and reduced capacitance.

BACKGROUND

Electrostatic discharge (ESD) is sudden and momentary electric currentthat flows between two objects at different electrical potentials causedby direct contact or induced by an electrostatic field. ESD is a seriousissue in solid state electronics, such as integrated circuits. Forexample, integrated circuits are made from semiconductor materials suchas silicon and insulating materials such as silicon dioxide and eitherof these materials can suffer permanent damage when subjected to highvoltages. As a result, there are now a number of structures that helpprotect against ESD in integrated circuits.

ESD protection in past silicon on insulator (SOI) technologies relied onthe use of poly-bound diodes. However, in advanced SOI technologies, theuse of a standard “double diode” ESD protection structure is no longersufficient for a number of reasons: (1) input/output operating voltagesof devices are larger, (2) the devices fail at lower voltages, and (3)higher frequency input/outputs of the devices require lower capacitancesolutions.

Field-effect transistors (FETs) with silicide blocking on the source anddrain provide an alternative solution that meets the requirements ofsome input/output designs of these devices. In certain SOI processes,nitride used for the silicide blocking is shared with a spacer nitride.In particular, only extension and halo implants occur in the areablocked by silicide formation, which is an advantage for ESD protection,since this design increases the sheet resistance in the silicide blockedregion. Specifically, a smaller silicide blocking length can be used toachieve the desired sheet resistance.

FETs created in this process with a single silicide blocking mask shapethat extends from the drain to the source provides good ESDcharacteristics. However, this configuration is disadvantageous because(1) the configuration causes a significant increase in capacitance atthe interface between the extensions and the P-well, which isundesirable in high speed input/output designs, and (2) the silicideblocking prohibits the ability to silicide the gate for enhancedelectrical contact.

Accordingly, there exists a need in the art to overcome the deficienciesand limitations described hereinabove.

SUMMARY

In a first aspect of the invention, there is a method of forming asemiconductor structure including: forming a channel in a first portionof a semiconductor layer and forming a doped extension region in asecond portion of the semiconductor layer abutting the channel on afirst side and abutting an insulator material on a bottom side. Thefirst portion of the semiconductor layer is thicker than the secondportion of the semiconductor layer.

In another aspect of the invention, a method of forming a semiconductorstructure includes: forming a channel in a first portion of asemiconductor layer under a gate of a field effect transistor (FET),forming a source and a drain in the semiconductor layer, forming a firstdoped extension region in a second portion of the semiconductor layer,on an insulator material, and abutting the channel and the source,forming a second doped extension region in a third portion of thesemiconductor layer, on the insulator material, and abutting the channeland the drain. The first portion of the semiconductor layer is thickerthan the second and third portions of the semiconductor layer.

In yet another aspect of the invention, a semiconductor structureincludes: a channel in a first portion of a semiconductor layer under agate of a field effect transistor (FET); a doped extension in a secondportion of the semiconductor layer; a source or a drain contacting afirst side of the doped extension; and a silicide-blocking structure onthe doped extension. The first portion of the semiconductor layer isthicker than the second portion of the semiconductor layer. The dopedextension is directly on an insulator material. The channel comprises afirst dopant type. The doped extension comprises a second dopant typedifferent from the first dopant type. The channel contacts a second sideof the doped extension opposite the first side.

In another aspect of the invention, a design structure tangibly embodiedin a machine readable storage medium for designing, manufacturing, ortesting an integrated circuit is provided. The design structurecomprises the structures of the present invention. In furtherembodiments, a hardware description language (HDL) design structureencoded on a machine-readable data storage medium comprises elementsthat when processed in a computer-aided design system generates amachine-executable representation of the semiconductor structure, whichcomprises the structures of the present invention. In still furtherembodiments, a method in a computer-aided design system is provided forgenerating a functional design model of the semiconductor structure. Themethod comprises generating a functional representation of thestructural elements of the semiconductor structure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is described in the detailed description whichfollows, in reference to the noted plurality of drawings by way ofnon-limiting examples of exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

FIGS. 1 a, 1 b, 2, 3 a, 3 b and 4-8 show processing steps and respectivestructures in accordance with aspects of the present invention;

FIGS. 9 a, 9 b and 10-14 show processing steps and respective structuresin accordance with additional aspects of the present invention; and

FIG. 15 is a flow diagram of a design process used in semiconductordesign, manufacture, and/or test.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention relates to semiconductor structures and methods ofmanufacture and, more particularly, to semiconductor structures havingthinned junctions and silicide blocking in order to provide increasedsheet resistance and reduced capacitance. In embodiments, dopedextension regions are bounded by a dielectric material rather than anoppositely doped semiconductor material, which minimizes the extent of acapacitance-causing interface between the extension regions andoppositely doped semiconductor material. The extension regions may beformed relatively thin e.g., compared to the layer of material in whichthe channel, source and drain are formed, in order to increase the sheetresistance of the extension regions. This increased sheet resistanceimproves ESD performance of the device.

In accordance with additional aspects of the invention, a silicideblocking film extends over the extension regions but not over a gate.This avoids an unwanted decrease in the sheet resistance of theextension regions by blocking the formation of silicide on theseregions, while also permitting silicide formation on the un-blockedgate.

FIGS. 1 a-8 show processing steps and resultant structures in accordancewith embodiments of the invention. Specifically, FIG. 1 a shows astructure 5 comprising a wafer 10. In embodiments, the wafer 10 maycomprise a bulk silicon or silicon on insulator (SOI) wafer. In the SOIimplementation, the wafer 10 comprises a substrate 10 a, an insulationregion 10 b over the substrate 10 a, and a semiconductor layer 10 c(e.g., active silicon) over the insulation region 10 b. In the bulksilicon implementation, reference numeral 10 b can be representative ofany isolation region or junction isolation.

More specifically, FIG. 1 a shows an exemplary SOI wafer 10 employed asan intermediate structure in implementations of the invention. The SOIwafer 10 may be fabricated using techniques well know to those skilledin the art. For example, the SOI wafer 10 may be formed by conventionalprocesses including, but not limited to, oxygen implantation (e.g.,SIMOX), wafer bonding, etc.

The constituent materials of the SOI wafer 10 may be selected based onthe desired end use application of the semiconductor device. Forexample, the substrate 10 a may be composed of any suitable materialincluding, but not limited to, Si, SiGe, SiGeC, SiC, GE alloys, GaAs,InAs, InP, and other III/V or II/VI compound semiconductors. The buriedinsulation region 10 b may be composed of oxide, such as SiO₂, and maybe referred to as BOX layer 10 b. Moreover, although the SOI wafer isreferred to as “silicon on insulator,” the semiconductor layer 10 c isnot limited to silicon. Instead, the semiconductor layer 10 c may becomprised of various semiconductor materials, such as, for example, Si,SiGe, SiC, SiGeC, etc.

In embodiments, the SOI wafer 10 has a thickness of about 700 82 m, withthe BOX layer 10 b having a thickness of about 0.1-1.0 μm, and thesemiconductor layer 10 c having a thickness of about 0.050-0.400 μm.However, the invention is not limited to these dimensions, and thevarious portions of the SOI wafer may have any desired thicknesses basedupon the intended use of the final semiconductor device.

In embodiments, shallow trench isolation (STI) structures 15 may beformed in portions of the wafer 10. The STI structures 15 can be formedin any conventional manner, such as, for example, masking portions ofthe semiconductor layer 10 c, forming trenches in unmasked portions ofthe semiconductor layer 10 c, filling the trenches with STI material,removing the mask, and planarizing the structure. In embodiments, theSTI structures 15 are composed of oxide.

Referring to FIG. 1 b, trenches 17 are formed in the semiconductor layer10 c. The trenches 17 may be formed using conventional semiconductorfabrication techniques, such as etching the semiconductor layer 10 cthrough a mask 20, which may be a hard mask or a photoresist. Forexample, the mask 20 may be formed by applying a photoresist material onthe semiconductor layer 10 c and exposing and developing the photoresistmaterial to form a pattern on the semiconductor layer. An etch processcomprising a directional etch having a chemistry that selectivelyremoves material of the semiconductor layer 10 c may be performed toremove portions of the semiconductor layer 10 c that are not protectedby the mask 20, thereby forming trenches 17. The etch process maycomprise a reactive ion etch (RIE), for example.

In particular, the patterning forms trenches 17 in the semiconductorlayer 10 c in order to open up areas that extend between outer regions30 and 35 of the semiconductor layer 10 c (e.g., regions that will laterbecome a source and a drain) and a remaining central region of thesemiconductor layer 10 c, and to expose a surface of the BOX layer 10 b.

As shown in FIG. 2, an oxide layer 40 is formed in the trenches 17. Theoxide layer 40 may be formed using any suitable technique, such as byepitaxially growing the oxide layer 40 from the exposed surface of theBOX layer 10 b, in which case the oxide layer 40 will be composed of thesame material as the BOX layer 10 b (e.g., SiO₂). Alternatively, theoxide layer 40 may be formed by filling the trenches 17 using adeposition process. For example, the oxide layer 40 may be formed bydepositing SiO₂, tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS), or any other desiredoxide, using a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process, plasma-enhancedchemical vapor deposition (PECVD), TEOS deposition, thermal oxidation orany other suitable oxide-forming process. In embodiments, the oxidelayer 40 is formed higher than an upper surface of the semiconductorlayer 10 c (e.g., to an upper edge of the mask 20) in order to ensurethat the trenches 17 are completely filled.

Alternatively, the oxide layer 40 may be formed using an implantationprocess. For example, instead of forming the trenches 17, the oxidelayer 40 can be formed in the semiconductor layer 10 c by implantingexposed regions of the semiconductor layer 10 c with oxygen and thensubsequently laser annealing the implanted regions to form oxide layer40.

As depicted in FIG. 3 a, the mask 20 is removed and the structure isplanarized such that the oxide layer 40 is substantially co-planar witha top surface of the semiconductor layer 10 c. For example, the mask 20may be removed by a conventional stripping process and the planarizingmay comprise using a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process.

As depicted in FIG. 3 b, an extension layer 45 (e.g., in embodimentsalso known as a resistor region) is formed on and over the semiconductorlayer 10 c and the oxide layer 40. In embodiments, the extension layer45 is formed by epitaxially growing silicon from exposed surfaces of thesemiconductor layer 10 c. In particular, the silicon epitaxial growthoccurs from the remaining central region of the semiconductor layer 10 cand outer regions 30 and 35 to form the extension layer 45 above a topsurface of the oxide layer 40. The thickness of the extension layer 45may have any desired thicknesses based upon the intended use of thefinal semiconductor device.

As shown in FIG. 4, a gate 49 is formed on the extension layer 45. Forexample, the gate 49 may comprise a gate body 50 and gate dielectric 55,and may be fabricated by first forming the gate dielectric 55 on anexposed surface (e.g., top) of the central region of semiconductor layer10 c. The gate dielectric layer 55 may be formed by any conventionaldeposition process such as CVD or PECVD, or a thermal growing processsuch as oxidation, nitridation or oxynitridation. The gate dielectric 55may include any device quality dielectric material such as an oxide,nitride, oxynitride, hafnium oxide or other high-k dielectric, or anycombination and multilayer thereof.

The gate body 50 may be formed on the gate dielectric 55 utilizing aconventional deposition process. The gate body 50 may include a gatematerial such as polysilicon, amorphous silicon or other materialssuitable for MOSFET gate composition. The gate material may be formed onthe surface of the gate dielectric 55 utilizing conventional depositionprocesses well known in the art such as, for example, CVD, PECVD andplating. The deposited gate dielectric material and gate material ispatterned to form the gate 49.

As also shown in FIG. 4, the extension layer 45 may be doped orimplanted to form extension regions 60 extending between a channelportion 63 of the semiconductor layer 10 c and the outer regions 30 and35. For example, an angled ion-implantation, represented by arrows 65,may be employed to selectively dope the extension regions 60 withappropriate ions depending on the desired doping type of the extensionregions.

As shown in FIG. 5, sidewall spacers 67 and blocking structures 70 areformed on portions of the extension layer 45. For example, a dielectricmaterial such as a nitride (e.g., Si₃N₄) may be selectively deposited onthe surfaces of the gate body 50 and the extension layer 45 to form thesidewall spacers 67 and the blocking structures 70 in a conventionalmanner, such as by chemical vapor deposition CVD using a silane source.Other techniques, which may be suitable for deposition of a nitridelayer, include low-pressure CVD (LPCVD) and atmospheric pressure CVD(APCVD). Portions of the deposited nitride layer are etched away in aconventional manner to form the sidewall spacers 67 along the gate body50 sidewalls, and blocking structures 70 substantially aligned over theoxide layers 40. The sidewall spacers 67 and the blocking structures 70are constructed in such a manner that they prevent subsequent silicideformation on the extension regions 60 overlying the oxide layers 40.

As shown in FIG. 6, source and drain regions 75 and 80 are formed in theouter regions 30 and 35 of the semiconductor layer 10 c. The source anddrain regions 75 and 80 may be formed using any suitable dopingtechnique, such as ion-implantation, diffusion doping, and gas phasedoping. For example, ion-implantation, shown by arrows 83, may beemployed to selectively dope the source and drain regions 75 and 80 withappropriate ions depending on the desired doping type of the source anddrain regions (e.g., n-type, p-type, etc.).

In embodiments, the semiconductor layer 10 c is initially doped asP-type, and the source and drain regions 75 and 80 and the extensionregions 60 are doped with N+ dopants. Further, the source and drainregions 75 and 80 may have a greater doping level (e.g., dopantconcentration) as compared to the extension regions 60. In embodiments,the source and drain regions 75 and 80 are formed such that they abutopposite sides of the extension regions 60. However, the structure isnot limited to this doping arrangement, and any other desired dopanttypes may be used within the scope of the invention.

Moreover, the invention is not limited by the order of steps to dope orimplant the outer regions 30 and 35 and the extension layer 45. Forexample, the outer regions 30 and 35 can be doped first, andsubsequently the extension layer 45 can be doped. Further, any desiredimplantation energy, dosage and implantation angle may be employedwithin the scope of the invention based upon the intended use of thefinal semiconductor device. For example, the outer regions 30 and 35 canbe doped at an angle of about 90° relative to a surface of the outerregions 30 and 35 (e.g., a substantially vertical implant), and theextension layer 45 can be doped at a non-zero angle relative to vertical(e.g., about 45°).

Advantageously, as can be seen in FIG. 6, by thinning the semiconductorlayer 10 c and forming the oxide layer 40 in replacement of the removedsilicon, an interface 85 between the extension regions 60 and theremaining central region of semiconductor layer 10 c (e.g., the channel63) is decreased. In particular, there is no interface between a bottomsurface 87 of the extension regions 60 and the semiconductor layer 10 csince the bottom surface 87 of the extension regions 60 abut the oxidelayer 40 instead of the semiconductor layer 10 c. Consequently, thisdesign provides an increased sheet resistance and reduced capacitance inthe ballasting region of the structure.

As shown in FIG. 7, advantageously, a portion of the blocking structures70 may be selectively removed from the top of the gate body 50 bymasking portions of the structure and etching away the portion of theblocking structure 70 on the top of the gate body 50 in a conventionalmanner. Silicide layers 90 a, 90 b and 90 c may be formed on the gatebody 50 and the source and drain regions 75 and 80 in any suitablemanner. For example, the silicide layers 90 a, 90 b and 90 c may beformed by selectively sputtering a Cobalt (or Nickel) film onto a topsurface of the gate body 50 and a top surface of the source and drainregions 75 and 80, and annealing the film to form a Cobalt (or Nickel)silicide. The silicide layers 90 a, 90 b and 90 c may have any desiredthickness.

Even more advantageously, remaining portions of the blocking structures70 prevent silicide from forming on the extension regions 60 during thesilicide formation processes. Therefore, the resultant structuredepicted in FIG. 7 is capable of maintaining an increased sheetresistance in the extension regions 60.

Middle-of-line (MOL) and/or back-end-of-line (BEOL) processes may beperformed on the structure shown in FIG. 7. For example, as shown inFIG. 8, an interlevel dielectric (ILD) layer 93 may be deposited on theexposed surfaces and planarized. The ILD layer 93 may comprise anysuitable dielectric material, for example, SiO₂, TEOS,borophosphosilicate glass (BPSG), high density plasma (HDP) oxide, etc.The ILD layer 93 may be deposited in any suitable manner such as CVD andmay be planarized using CMP.

As further depicted in FIG. 8, contacts 95 a, 95 b and 95 c may beformed in the ILD layer 93 to the gate, source, and drain regions. Anysuitable contacts 90 a, 90 b and 90 c may be formed using conventionalmaterials and semiconductor fabrication techniques. For example, inembodiments, the contacts 95 a, 95 b and 95 c comprise a liner andconductive material, and are formed by first forming contact holes inthe ILD layer 93 down to, or slightly below, the upper surfaces of thegate body 50 and the source and drain regions 75 and 80. If silicide waspreviously formed on these features (e.g., silicide layer 90 a, 90 b and90 c), then the contact holes may be formed down to, or slightly below,the upper surface of the silicide. The liner is formed on the exposedsurfaces of the contact holes. The liner may comprise, for example, Ta,TaN, Ti, TiN, Ru, RuN, W, WN, or any other material that can serve as abarrier to prevent conductive material from diffusing therethrough.Next, the contact holes are filled with a conductive material such as,for example, Cu, W, Al, Cu alloys, etc.

FIGS. 9 a-14 show processing steps and resultant structures inaccordance with additional embodiments of the invention. Specifically,FIG. 9 a shows a structure 100 comprising a wafer 110. The wafer 110 maybe similar to wafer 10. For example, the wafer 110 may comprise asubstrate 110 a, buried insulator layer 110 b, semiconductor layer 110c, and STI structures 115, similar to those described above with regardto structure 5.

As depicted in FIG. 9 b, a gate 119 comprising a gate body 120 and agate dielectric 125 is formed over the semiconductor layer 110 c. Thegate 119 may be formed using conventional semiconductor fabricationprocesses and materials. For example, a gate dielectric 125 may beformed on an exposed surface (e.g., top) of the semiconductor layer 110c, as described above with regard to the gate dielectric 55.Subsequently, a layer of gate conductor may be formed on the gatedielectric 125 utilizing a conventional deposition process such as CVD,PECVD or plating, as described above with regard to gate body 50. Thedeposited gate dielectric material and gate conductor material may bepatterned to form the gate 119.

As further depicted in FIG. 9 b, angled trenches 130 are formed in thesemiconductor layer 110 c. The angled trenches 130 may be formed usingconventional semiconductor fabrication techniques, such as etching thesemiconductor layer 110 c through a mask 135, e.g., in a manner similarto that described above with regard to trenches 17. The etch process maycomprise a reactive ion etch (RIE), for example.

In embodiments, parameters of the etch process may be controlled to formsidewalls 137 of the angled trenches 130 at a predetermined angle and toconstruct the angled trenches 130 with a predetermined depth from a topsurface of the semiconductor layer 110 c. For example, gas concentrationratio (e.g., O₂/(SF₆+O₂), electrode bias and chamber pressure of the RIEprocess may be controlled during the etch process to form the sidewalls137 of the angled trenches 130 at a predetermined angle and to apredetermined depth relative to the top surface of the semiconductorlayer 110 c. The depth of the angled trenches 130, and consequently athickness of a remaining portion of the semiconductor layer 110 c,affects the resistance of the overall structure 100.

Accordingly, the patterning forms angled trenches 130 in thesemiconductor layer 110 c. In embodiments, the trenches 130 are overextension regions 140 (e.g., in embodiments also known as resistorregions) that extend between outer regions 145 and 150 (e.g., regionsthat will later become a source and a drain) and a remaining centralregion of the semiconductor layer 110 c. Thus, the angled trenches 130effectively thin the semiconductor layer 110 c and advantageouslyprovide an increased sheet resistance in the ballasting regions.

Advantageously, forming the gate body 120 prior to the angled trenches130 permits the gate body 120 to be used as a mask for the etchingprocess, which provides self-alignment of the angled trenches 130relative to the gate body 120. Optionally, the mask 135 may cover thegate body 120 during etching process to protect the gate body 120.Alternatively, the gate body 120 may be a dummy gate that is used forself-alignment during etching, and which is later removed and replacedwith a replacement gate. Alternatively, the angled trenches 130 may beformed prior to the gate body 120, which provides better ability to fillin the etched regions with oxide (described in greater detail below),but eliminates the benefit of self-alignment.

As shown in FIG. 10, the mask 135 is removed (e.g., stripped) and theextension regions 140 of the semiconductor layer 110 c are doped to formextensions 155 between the channel 160 (e.g., p-well) and the outerregions 145 and 150. Any suitable doping technique may be used to formthe extensions 155. For example, an ion implantation, such as a haloimplant process, represented by reference number 162, may be employed toselectively dope the extension regions 140 of the semiconductor layer110 c with appropriate ions. Any desired implant energy, dose, andimplant angle may be used based upon the intended use of the finalsemiconductor device. For example, the extension regions 140 can bedoped at an angle of about 30° relative to a surface of the outerregions 145 and 150 at a dosage of 1E13-1E17 atoms per centimetersquared.

In embodiments, the semiconductor layer 110 c is initially doped asP-type and the extension regions 140 are doped with N+ dopants. However,the structure 100 is not limited to this doping arrangement, and otherdopant types may be used within the scope of the invention.

As can be seen in FIG. 10, there is an interface 165 between the dopedextensions 155 and the channel 160. In accordance with aspects of theinvention, the extent of the interface 165 is minimized because thebottom surface 170 of the doped extension 155 is formed directly on(e.g., abutting) the BOX layer 110 b, e.g., instead of the bottomsurface 170 being formed in contact with the channel 160 or otherportion of semiconductor layer 110 c. Consequently, this design providesan increased sheet resistance and reduced capacitance in the ballastingregion of structure 100.

As shown in FIG.11, blocking structures 175 are formed on portions ofthe extensions 155 and gate body 120. For example, a dielectric materialsuch as a nitride (e.g., Si₃N₄) is selectively deposited to form theblocking structures 175 in a conventional manner, such as by CVD using asilane source. Other techniques, which may be suitable for deposition ofa nitride layer, include LPCVD and APCVD. The blocking structures 175are constructed in such a manner that they prevent subsequentsource/drain implant and silicide formation in and over the extensions155.

As shown in FIG. 12, source and drain regions 180 and 185 are formed inthe outer regions 145 and 150 of the semiconductor layer 110 c.Particularly, the source and drain regions 180 and 185 are formed suchthat they abut opposite sides of the extensions 155. The source anddrain regions 180 and 185 may be formed using any suitable dopingtechnique, such as ion-implantation, diffusion doping, and gas phasedoping. For example, ion-implantation, shown by arrows 187, may beemployed to selectively dope the source and drain regions 180 and 185with appropriate ions depending on the desired doping type of the sourceand drain regions (e.g., n-type, p-type, etc.). Any desired implantenergy, dose, and implant angle may be used based upon the intended useof the final semiconductor device. For example, the outer regions 145and 150 can be doped at an angle of about 45-60° relative to a surfaceof the outer regions 145 and 150 at a dosage of 1E13 and 1E17 atoms percentimeter squared. Advantageously, the blocking structures 175 preventthe source and drain region implant from affecting the extensions 155.

As described above, in embodiments the semiconductor layer 110 c may beinitially doped as P-type, and the source and drain regions 180 and 185and the extensions 155 are doped with N+ dopants. Further, the sourceand drain regions 180 and 185 may have a greater doping level ascompared to the extensions 155. However, the structure 100 is notlimited to this doping arrangement, and other dopant types may be usedwithin the scope of the invention.

As shown in FIG. 13, advantageously, a portion of the blockingstructures 175 may be selectively removed from the top of the gate body120 by masking portions of the structure and etching away the portion ofthe blocking structures 175 on the top of the gate body 120 in aconventional manner. Portions of the blocking structures 175 overlyingthe source and drain regions 180 and 185 may also be removed in the sameprocessing steps. Silicide layers 190 a, 190 b and 190 c may be formedover the gate body 120 and the source and drain regions 180 and 185 inany suitable manner. For example, the silicide layers 190 a, 190 b and190 c may be formed by selectively sputtering a Cobalt (or Nickel) filmonto a top surface of the gate body 120 and a top surface of the sourceand drain regions 180 and 185, and annealing the film to form a Cobalt(or Nickel) silicide. The silicide layers 190 a, 190 b and 190 c mayhave any desired thickness.

Even more advantageously, remaining portions of the blocking structures175 prevent silicide from forming on the extensions 155 during thesilicide formation processes. This, in turn, prevents a decrease insheet resistance that would occur if silicide were formed on theextensions 155. By preventing such a decrease in sheet resistance,implementations of the invention provide enhanced ESD protection for thedevice.

Middle-of-line (MOL) and/or back-end-of-line (BEOL) processes may beperformed on the structure shown in FIG. 13, as described above withregard to structure 5. For example, as shown in FIG. 14, an interleveldielectric (ILD) layer 195 may be deposited on the exposed surfaces andplanarized and contacts 197 a, 197 b and 197 c may be formed in the ILDlayer 195.

FIG. 15 is a flow diagram of a design process used in semiconductordesign, manufacture, and/or test. FIG. 15 shows a block diagram of anexemplary design flow 900 used for example, in semiconductor IC logicdesign, simulation, test, layout, and manufacture. Design flow 900includes processes, machines and/or mechanisms for processing designstructures or devices to generate logically or otherwise functionallyequivalent representations of the design structures and/or devicesdescribed above and shown in FIGS. 1 a-14. The design structuresprocessed and/or generated by design flow 900 may be encoded onmachine-readable transmission or storage media to include data and/orinstructions that when executed or otherwise processed on a dataprocessing system generate a logically, structurally, mechanically, orotherwise functionally equivalent representation of hardware components,circuits, devices, or systems. Machines include, but are not limited to,any machine used in an IC design process, such as designing,manufacturing, or simulating a circuit, component, device, or system.For example, machines may include: lithography machines, machines and/orequipment for generating masks (e.g. e-beam writers), computers orequipment for simulating design structures, any apparatus used in themanufacturing or test process, or any machines for programmingfunctionally equivalent representations of the design structures intoany medium (e.g. a machine for programming a programmable gate array).

Design flow 900 may vary depending on the type of representation beingdesigned. For example, a design flow 900 for building an applicationspecific IC (ASIC) may differ from a design flow 900 for designing astandard component or from a design flow 900 for instantiating thedesign into a programmable array, for example a programmable gate array(PGA) or a field programmable gate array (FPGA) offered by Altera® Inc.or Xilinx® Inc.

FIG. 15 illustrates multiple such design structures including an inputdesign structure 920 that is preferably processed by a design process910. Design structure 920 may be a logical simulation design structuregenerated and processed by design process 910 to produce a logicallyequivalent functional representation of a hardware device. Designstructure 920 may also or alternatively comprise data and/or programinstructions that when processed by design process 910, generate afunctional representation of the physical structure of a hardwaredevice. Whether representing functional and/or structural designfeatures, design structure 920 may be generated using electroniccomputer-aided design (ECAD) such as implemented by a coredeveloper/designer. When encoded on a machine-readable datatransmission, gate array, or storage medium, design structure 920 may beaccessed and processed by one or more hardware and/or software moduleswithin design process 910 to simulate or otherwise functionallyrepresent an electronic component, circuit, electronic or logic module,apparatus, device, or system such as those shown in FIGS. 1 a-14. Assuch, design structure 920 may comprise files or other data structuresincluding human and/or machine-readable source code, compiledstructures, and computer-executable code structures that when processedby a design or simulation data processing system, functionally simulateor otherwise represent circuits or other levels of hardware logicdesign. Such data structures may include hardware-description language(HDL) design entities or other data structures conforming to and/orcompatible with lower-level HDL design languages such as Verilog andVHDL, and/or higher level design languages such as C or C++.

Design process 910 preferably employs and incorporates hardware and/orsoftware modules for synthesizing, translating, or otherwise processinga design/simulation functional equivalent of the components, circuits,devices, or logic structures shown in FIGS. 1 a-14 to generate a netlist980 which may contain design structures such as design structure 920.Netlist 980 may comprise, for example, compiled or otherwise processeddata structures representing a list of wires, discrete components, logicgates, control circuits, I/O devices, models, etc. that describes theconnections to other elements and circuits in an integrated circuitdesign. Netlist 980 may be synthesized using an iterative process inwhich netlist 980 is resynthesized one or more times depending on designspecifications and parameters for the device. As with other designstructure types described herein, netlist 980 may be recorded on amachine-readable data storage medium or programmed into a programmablegate array. The medium may be a non-volatile storage medium such as amagnetic or optical disk drive, a programmable gate array, a compactflash, or other flash memory. Additionally, or in the alternative, themedium may be a system or cache memory, buffer space, or electrically oroptically conductive devices and materials on which data packets may betransmitted and intermediately stored via the Internet, or othernetworking suitable means.

Design process 910 may include hardware and software modules forprocessing a variety of input data structure types including netlist980. Such data structure types may reside, for example, within libraryelements 930 and include a set of commonly used elements, circuits, anddevices, including models, layouts, and symbolic representations, for agiven manufacturing technology (e.g., different technology nodes, 32 nm,45 nm, 90 nm, etc.). The data structure types may further include designspecifications 940, characterization data 950, verification data 960,design rules 970, and test data files 985 which may include input testpatterns, output test results, and other testing information. Designprocess 910 may further include, for example, standard mechanical designprocesses such as stress analysis, thermal analysis, mechanical eventsimulation, process simulation for operations such as casting, molding,and die press forming, etc. One of ordinary skill in the art ofmechanical design can appreciate the extent of possible mechanicaldesign tools and applications used in design process 910 withoutdeviating from the scope and spirit of the invention. Design process 910may also include modules for performing standard circuit designprocesses such as timing analysis, verification, design rule checking,place and route operations, etc.

Design process 910 employs and incorporates logic and physical designtools such as HDL compilers and simulation model build tools to processdesign structure 920 together with some or all of the depictedsupporting data structures along with any additional mechanical designor data (if applicable), to generate a second design structure 990.

Design structure 990 resides on a storage medium or programmable gatearray in a data format used for the exchange of data of mechanicaldevices and structures (e.g. information stored in a IGES, DXF,Parasolid XT, JT, DRG, or any other suitable format for storing orrendering such mechanical design structures). Similar to designstructure 920, design structure 990 preferably comprises one or morefiles, data structures, or other computer-encoded data or instructionsthat reside on transmission or data storage media and that whenprocessed by an ECAD system generate a logically or otherwisefunctionally equivalent form of one or more of the embodiments of theinvention shown in FIGS. 1 a-14. In one embodiment, design structure 990may comprise a compiled, executable HDL simulation model thatfunctionally simulates the devices shown in FIGS. 1 a-14.

Design structure 990 may also employ a data format used for the exchangeof layout data of integrated circuits and/or symbolic data format (e.g.information stored in a GDSII (GDS2), GL1, OASIS, map files, or anyother suitable format for storing such design data structures). Designstructure 990 may comprise information such as, for example, symbolicdata, map files, test data files, design content files, manufacturingdata, layout parameters, wires, levels of metal, vias, shapes, data forrouting through the manufacturing line, and any other data required by amanufacturer or other designer/developer to produce a device orstructure as described above and shown in FIGS. 1 a-14. Design structure990 may then proceed to a stage 995 where, for example, design structure990: proceeds to tape-out, is released to manufacturing, is released toa mask house, is sent to another design house, is sent back to thecustomer, etc.

The method as described above is used in the fabrication of integratedcircuit chips. The resulting integrated circuit chips can be distributedby the fabricator in raw wafer form (that is, as a single wafer that hasmultiple unpackaged chips), as a bare die, or in a packaged form. In thelatter case the chip is mounted in a single chip package (such as aplastic carrier, with leads that are affixed to a motherboard or otherhigher level carrier) or in a multichip package (such as a ceramiccarrier that has either or both surface interconnections or buriedinterconnections). In any case, the chip is then integrated with otherchips, discrete circuit elements, and/or other signal processing devicesas part of either (a) an intermediate product, such as a motherboard, or(b) an end product. The end product can be any product that includesintegrated circuit chips, ranging from toys and other low-endapplications to advanced computer products having a display, a keyboardor other input device, and a central processor.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims, if applicable, areintended to include any structure, material, or act for performing thefunction in combination with other claimed elements as specificallyclaimed. The description of the present invention has been presented forpurposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to beexhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprincipals of the invention and the practical application, and to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention forvarious embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated. Accordingly, while the invention has beendescribed in terms of embodiments, those of skill in the art willrecognize that the invention can be practiced with modifications and inthe spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A semiconductor structure, comprising: a channelin a first portion of a semiconductor layer under a gate of a fieldeffect transistor (FET); a doped extension in a second portion of thesemiconductor layer; a source or a drain contacting a first side of thedoped extension; and a silicide-blocking structure on the dopedextension; wherein the first portion of the semiconductor layer isthicker than the second portion of the semiconductor layer; the dopedextension is directly on an insulator material; the channel comprises afirst dopant type; the doped extension comprises a second dopant typedifferent from the first dopant type; and the channel contacts a secondside of the doped extension opposite the first side.
 2. Thesemiconductor structure of claim 1, wherein: an upper surface of thechannel and a upper surface of the doped extension are substantiallycoplanar; and a lower surface of the doped extension is elevationallyhigher than a lower surface of the channel.
 3. The semiconductorstructure of claim 1, wherein: a lower surface of the channel and alower surface of the doped extension are substantially coplanar; and anupper surface of the extension is elevationally lower than an uppersurface of the channel.
 4. A semiconductor structure, comprising: achannel in a first portion of a semiconductor layer; and a dopedextension region in a second portion of the semiconductor layer abuttingthe channel on a first side and abutting an insulator material on abottom side, wherein: the first portion of the semiconductor layer isthicker than the second portion of the semiconductor layer; the firstportion of the semiconductor layer is doped with a first dopant type;and the second portion of the semiconductor layer is doped with a seconddopant type different from the first dopant type.
 5. The semiconductorstructure of claim 4, further comprising a source or a drain contactinga second side of the doped extension region opposite the first side. 6.A semiconductor structure, comprising: a channel in a first portion of asemiconductor layer; a doped extension region in a second portion of thesemiconductor layer abutting the channel on a first side and abutting aninsulator material on a bottom side; a gate formed over the channel; anda silicide-blocking structure formed on the doped extension region,wherein the first portion of the semiconductor layer is thicker than thesecond portion of the semiconductor layer.
 7. The semiconductorstructure of claim 6, wherein a top of the gate is devoid of thesilicide-blocking structure.
 8. The semiconductor structure of claim 6,further comprising forming a silicide layer on the top of the gate.